Our apologies for getting a little behind with Sail-World.com/nz's replay coverage of the 12 month anniversary, however from here on there are plenty of gaps in the racing calendar which will allow the catch up.

The coverage following is a big read of the second most significant moment of the 35th America's Cup. It is interesting to look back knowing the outcome. We also present the full race management data for the day and which have not been published before to our knowledge.

The key point with the data is the windstrength logging - which was provided plenty of controversy ashore and in the media conference the following day. The readings show that Race Director was permitted to start racing on the fourth race of the day. And as can be seen from the photos of earlier racing that day - the sea state was probably worse at the leeward rounding mark than at the start.

The other key takeout from the day is the heavy air sailing lesson given by Dean Barker and the crew of Softbank Team Japan. Theirs was a stunning display of boat handling in horrendous conditions, often very poor visibility in driving rain, and sailing wingsailed foiling catamarans in conditions in which they had never previously been raced.

Land Rover BAR's chief designer, Andy Claughton gives his analysis of why the Kiwi's nosedived and their sailing points of difference with the other competitors. He notes that the nosedive became inevitable when the rudder aileron broke free of the water. When that situation occurs a downward force of approximately 800kgs is released from the back end of the boat throwing the foiling geometry out of balance and a nosedive is inevitable - even in just 8kts of breeze.

Top America's Cup Challenger, Emirates Team New Zealand suffered a very challenging day on the Great Sound, Bermuda, on the second day of Semi-Final racing, suffering damage to two wingsails, and pitch-poling the AC50.

The fortunate aspect of the day is that the team scored a come from behind win in the first race of the day which puts them 3-1 up in the series against Land Rover BAR, and with adverse weather forecast for much of the rest of the week, if there were no more racing, the New Zealand team would progress to the Challenger Finals starting on Saturday.

Winds today were always expected to be close to the upper limit for racing.

All teams were out on the Great Sound for a practice session before racing this afternoon.

Emirates Team New Zealand did some damage to the lower section of their wingsail during training and elected to return to the team base and replace it with their second wingsail.

This was the support crew feat that the British team were unable to achieve on the first day of the Semi-Finals which resulted in them losing two races and going 0-2 in the first to five series.

Emirates Team New Zealand returned to the race course short of time to get to the start area, however fortuitously the wind exceeded the average limit for racing at least twice, resulting in two eight minute delays while the 'rolling boxcar' system of averaging wind speed measurement was restarted.

The Peter Burling skippered crew arrived at the start of their match with Land Rover BAR, a team that performs very well at the top end of the breeze.

By this stage winds were hovering around 22kts - just a couple of knots under the 24kt maximum - and rain was beginning to settle in - the first serious rain in Bermuda for a month. The New Zealand team elected to play it cautiously at the start and trailed the British for the first three legs as the boats hit the top speeds yet seen in the regatta and sailing in very marginal conditions and reduced visibility.

On the second windward beat, Peter Burling and crew put the hammer down and showed blinding speed and superb tacking to go from being 11 seconds behind to 9 seconds ahead of the British in just one 1.2nm leg to windward. There was no lucky shift in it - just sheer boat speed - and maybe the Kiwis hand was forced to reveal a secret they have been rumoured to have all regatta.

The Kiwi margin increased, and eventually, Ainslie decided seamanship was the order of the day and took the pressure off the cruise the rest of the course finishing over 2 minutes behind Burling and his crew.

The third race of the day got underway between Artemis Racing and Softbank Team Japan as conditions deteriorated still further and Dean Barker helmed to Japanese entry to quickly have a comfortable margin over the Swedish team, who were once again not flavour of the day with umpires and were being pinged with multiple penalties, which forced them to physically stop the boat soon after the start of the first beat to resolve the penalties.

Conditions brightened somewhat for the start of the fourth race of the day between Land Rover BAR and Emirates Team New Zealand. Again the Kiwis played it cautiously in the marginal conditions. Both competitors suffered penalties for early entry which were offset.

British skipper Ben Ainslie chased the Kiwis to the southern side of the starting box with both boats holding up until the start signal. Ainslie was the first to break and go, followed by Emirates Team New Zealand.

The Kiwis got foiling and up to speed before the bows dipped and then the AC50 went into a full pitchpole.

The reason for the pitchpole was not clear as the boat was in level flight and appeared to be accelerating properly. However as was seen earlier in the series it is relatively easy for the AC50's to get the bow down, lift a rudder-aileron clear of the water even just for a moment, releasing 700kg of downward pressure from the back of the boat and at best there will be a major splashdown with the boat stopping completely. Or as happened today the boat nosedives and pitchpoles.

Three crew were dropped into the water, but the designed flotation and safety systems came into play, and the AC50 just sat bows down waiting for rescue tenders to move in.

Steering the AC50 into a head to wind situation, and righting the catamaran took about ten minutes, during which time the top back element of the wingsail suffered some shredding damage and probably broken frames. The top front element suffered skin damage.

After righting the AC50 was strapped alongside the team tender and sideslipped back to the team base in the Royal Dockyard - trip that took about forty minutes in heavy rain which killed the wind, and made the end of the trip to the team base slightly easier.

Once at the base, the team put a man up the wing mast and pulled the wingsail. After which the wingsail and AC50 was put into the shed and the doors closed.

No statement has been issued yet from the team as to the damage.

From photos and dockside observation, it would seem that the upper aft element of the wingsail was badly damaged. Mast head and other electronics in the wingsail will have been damaged. It is not possible to tell whether hydraulic systems would have been damaged in the wingsail, but one would suspect that would have been the case,

On the platform a lot of crossbeams and other fairing has been damaged - however, this happened on other competitors as well. Water got into the forward section of the hulls and had to be pumped out - it is not known what electronics if any are affected.

While the cockpits filled they are 'wet areas', and gear in these would be expected to withstand being submerged.

However, it would be expected that they would be ready to race tomorrow. However, the weather forecast is such that Race Director Iain Murray told media this morning that he had a low level of confidence that racing would be held on Wednesday.

Official Report - America's Cup Media:
Peter Burling’s Emirates Team New Zealand suffered a major capsize in their second Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Playoff Semi-Final race of the day against Sir Ben Ainslie’s Land Rover BAR.

The dramatic incident saw a mistake by Peter Burling and his Kiwi team lead to their boat digging its nose deep into the water, lifting its stern and capsizing, leaving three of the teams’ sailors clinging on inside the cockpits on the starboard hull while the other three were ejected into the water. All six sailors were quickly accounted for as safe and unharmed and the team’s boat was righted and taken back to their base in the America’s Cup Village.

The capsize was not the Kiwis’ first issue of the day. Even before the first race of the afternoon they had to return to base to fit their spare wingsail after an unknown problem was discovered on the wingsail they were intending to race with.

The whole team pulled together and managed to fit their replacement wingsail, and get back out in time for the first race of the day with Land Rover BAR.

However, the biggest talking point of the day was Emirates Team New Zealand’s capsize.

“Firstly, and the most important thing for us, is that all the guys on board are safe and with no major injuries,” said Peter Burling. “It is definitely a relief when you see them falling off that you can look back and see their heads above water and that they’re all fine.

“We sustained quite a bit of damage to the boat but the shore guys are assessing the damage and we feel we will be able to repair it and get back out and into the action.

“The first race was a massive effort for the whole team. We managed to fit the second wing to the boat before the race and it was amazing to see the whole team come together and put their efforts into the boat.

“To be able to reward them with a win was incredibly pleasing because it was certainly a whole team effort.

“In the second race, as we tried to accelerate away from the start line we got really high on the foils and then and then came down really quickly. We are not sure what caused the capsize yet but we will go back and assess it.

“As a group of New Zealanders we are incredibly resilient, that first race showed that, and looking forward I think that first point could prove crucial.

“We’ll bounce back from this, get the boat back to 100 percent and get back out there.”

In reply, Sir Ben Ainslie reflected on what he said was the most exciting day of racing in his life.

“It was an amazing day of sailing. Certainly the most exciting and exhilarating racing I’ve ever been involved in, in my life,” said the Land Rover BAR helmsman.

“We were pleased with how we sailed as a team because I think all of the teams were struggling to get around the course. Ultimately one loss and one win, considering the conditions, we are happy with that.”

On the incident in their second race of the day, which resulted in Peter Burling and Emirates Team New Zealand’s capsize, Ainslie added, “It appeared to be a slight misjudgment from Peter but in these conditions it isn’t easy, but all of us sitting here are not going to pass criticism because these boats are incredibly hard to sail and these things can happen.

“Thank God, most importantly, everyone was safe and okay and I’m sure they will be back out tomorrow.”

Before that race-ending incident, it was a day of high winds and compelling drama on the second day of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs Semi-Finals. The conditions took their toll on all four teams and proved the most challenging day of competition yet in the 35th America’s Cup.

In the first race of the afternoon Nathan Outteridge’s Artemis Racing resumed their rivalries with Dean Barker and SoftBank Team Japan and what ensued was a war of attrition with both teams’ boats being battered by the conditions.

With the wind levels challenging both teams in the pre-start sequence, Dean Barker’s SoftBank Team Japan timed their approach to the line better than their rivals and seized the early advantage.

Artemis Racing struggled against the conditions in the early stages, and their boat suffered damage on leg 2/8 which allowed SoftBank Team Japan to extend their lead to 26 seconds by Gate 3.

Nathan Outteridge’s struggles continued with another mistake, this time a nose dive out of the gate 5 turn, further hampering their momentum, while, in contrast, Dean Barker’s team remained composed and extended their lead to 47 seconds.

But just as their rivals had, SoftBank Team Japan suffered damage to their boat, this time in the final stages of the race, leading to a nervy end to the first competitive action of the day for the Japanese team.

However, Barker’s team did not let the damage hold them up and they crossed the finish line first. Meanwhile, back out on the racecourse, Artemis Racing had come to a stop as Nathan Outteridge radioed through to America’s Cup Race Management (ACRM) to confirm his team’s retirement from the first race.

“We had a bit of a stuff just before the start of that first race began and blew out a bunch of the fairings,” revealed Nathan Outteridge, whose team ultimately suffered successive defeats.

“We spent a lot of time just trying bandage up the boat and it just shows how fragile these boats are.

“It was a disappointing day but you just have to keep chipping away. It was pretty tough but now the boat is back in the shed and we are just doing all the checks and I’m sure it will be good for tomorrow.”

For Sir Ben Ainslie and Land Rover BAR, day one of the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs Semi-Finals was disastrous. A damaged wingsail in race one forced the British team to retire in their opening race against Emirates Team New Zealand. They were unable to replace the wingsail in time for the second race, handing their rivals another victory and giving them a two - zero advantage at the end of the first day of Semi-Final action.

On Semi-Finals day two the British team returned to the racecourse aiming to cut the deficit to their Kiwi rivals and they started strongly, beating Emirates Team New Zealand across the start line and seizing the early advantage.

A slight nosedive on leg 2/9 halted their initial momentum but Ainslie and his team recovered quickly to keep the team ahead through gate 3.

However, Land Rover BAR were punished for another mistake on leg 5, allowing Peter Burling to seize the initiative and take the lead for the first time in the race.

Ultimately, that mistake was to prove pivotal as Burling held his nerve in the final stages and crossed the finish line 24 seconds ahead of his rival, taking another step closer to the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs Final.

Attention turned back to the battle between SoftBank Team Japan and Artemis Racing in the third race of the day, with the pressure on Nathan Outteridge following defeat to Dean Barker earlier in the day.

However, that pressure intensified right from the start of the race as Barker won the duel in the pre-start sequence to give his team the early advantage.

Artemis Racing’s day went from bad to worse as their challenge was hampered dramatically by a penalty, awarded against them for sailing out of the racecourse boundary on leg three.

The setback all but ended their challenge, with SoftBank Team Japan able to stretch their lead to one minute and 15 seconds by the gate 5 turn.

Nathan Outteridge and his team refused to concede defeat this time round, but there was to be no late fightback as SoftBank Team Japan crossed the line with Artemis Racing following, one minute and 27 seconds behind.

Back-to-back victories on the day for SoftBank Team Japan gives Dean Barker’s team a three - one advantage over Nathan Outteridge’s Artemis Racing, meaning just two more wins would see the Japanese team progress to the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Challenger Playoffs Final.

“We are obviously thrilled with the day, that was pretty full on by anyone’s standards,” said Dean Barker on his SoftBank Team Japan’s efforts on a victorious day.

“The boats were just flying around and I think we had our top speed in the boat since we’ve been sailing it.

“It’s a fantastic effort from the guys on the boat and when you get a course like we had today it’s very taxing on the crew, they all did an amazing job today.”

The tension levels were already high but then went stratospheric in the second race between Emirates Team New Zealand and Land Rover BAR.

In their second race of the day, Land Rover BAR won the pre-start duel over Emirates Team New Zealand and the Brits were away and heading for the first mark.

However, attempting to recover from their poor start, Peter Burling’s team paid the ultimate price for pushing their boat to limit, suffering a spectacular capsize which ended their race and put three of their sailors into the water. The dramatic scenes ended the contest as the officials raised the black flag, resulting in the race victory being awarded to Land Rover BAR.

After the race, Burling confirmed that all six sailors were unharmed, bar some cuts and bruises, and that the team’s shorecrew were immediately starting work to repair their damaged yacht.

Emirates Team New Zealand capsize on dramatic Semi-Final Day 2 (from Emirates Team New Zealand)

A catastrophic capsize in race four of the semi-finals in Bermuda has put Emirates Team New Zealand's challenge for the 35th America's Cup under huge pressure.

Chasing the British at the start of the race against Britain's Ben Ainslie Racing, the Kiwi boat pitch-poled violently with the bows digging into the water followed by the wing-sail.

The sailors escaped unharmed but the boat suffered extensive damage, leaving the shore crew with a massive job to get Aotearoa back on the water for racing tomorrow.

Ironically the boat was only racing today because of heroic efforts by the shore crew before the start of the first race.

With the wind pumping well above the 24-knot limit at time for racing Peter Burling had sailed gingerly out of the harbour towards the race course only to return minutes later with a badly damaged wing-sail.

Amazingly the crew managed to install a replacement in just 55 minutes and Emirates Team New Zealand made it to the start where neither boat wanted to engage in the gusts of wind sweeping across the Grand Harbour.

The Kiwis followed Ben Ainslie Racing over the line and settled in for the chase. They overtook the British boat on the second upwind leg via a superior tack and superior speed for a 2:10 win to go three nil up in the first to five series.

In the next race Ainslie again led at the start and as Emirates Team New Zealand powered up, disaster struck.

Once the damage is assessed the shore crew will work through the night to get the boat ready to race.

Praising their efforts, helmsman Peter Burling said: "As a group of New Zealanders we are incredibly resilient and we will get the boat back to 100 per cent."

An epic day of racing unfolded on the Great Sound in Bermuda for the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Playoff Semi-finals as Land Rover BAR faced off against Emirates Team New Zealand.

The first race got underway after a slight delay waiting for the wind to drop below the 24 knots average limit. Emirates Team New Zealand only just made the start after damage sustained to their wing after docking out. It was panning out to be a full on day with both teams sailing at the limits hitting speeds in excess of 45 knots.

The British team won the start and led Emirates Team New Zealand for five of the nine leg race, before getting low on oil which enabled Emirates Team New Zealand to take the lead, as Sailing Team Manager Jono Macbeth explained:

"These boats are so physical up until now we have been racing a five or six leg course, today was a nine legger. It is unbelievable how much energy is required to get around these courses, unfortunately for us we got low on oil at a critical time, so our manouvres weren't as crisp as they have could been."

In the second race Ben Ainslie and his British team again won the start, before Emirates Team New Zealand suffered a dramatic capsize on the first reach, with the race subsequently being awarded to Land Rover BAR.

Ben Ainslie, Skipper and Team Principal: "The most important thing is that everyone is okay on Emirates Team New Zealand after their capsize. I think all four teams out there showed great seamanship to deal with these boats in these conditions. It was absolutely full on. We look forward to seeing them back on the race course."

"It was unbelievable racing in gusts up to 27-28 knots. Certainly, in thirty years of racing boats, it was the most full-on, exhilarating moment I've ever had. It was incredible out there.

"I liken it to skiing on ice. No holds barred; if you start to slow up and play it safe that's when it is worse. When you sail these boats fast it is very rewarding, but in conditions like today sometimes it is not possible. Days like today it is the ultimate team sport."

Bleddyn Mon, Grinder: "It was pretty exciting out there. All the teams have been saying they've never been out in winds like that before, and certainly not racing.

"On the final approach in the pre start we got the hook on them and sat up on the start line. We bore away, they followed behind and the next thing we know, we look behind and they capsized. First thing was to check everyone was okay and we sent our chase boat over to assist them.

"Hopefully we will be back out on the water tomorrow and it's all to play for." The current forecast for tomorrow is predicting stronger winds than today. The team are getting ready for another epic day of racing."

SoftBank Team Japan dominated the America's Cup Challenger Playoff action on day two of racing beating Artemis Racing in both races despite the white-knuckle conditions on the Great Sound.

With the wins today, the Japanese team now lead the Swedes 3-1 in this Semi-Final first-to-five round.

Sustained winds of 23 knots with gusts past 25 knots and rain squalls littered a treacherous racetrack that hosted the fastest and wettest day of racing to date in the 2017 America's Cup.

"Really happy to get two race wins today in on a course like that", said Skipper and CEO Dean Barker.

"On a day like today it was just enough to try and get the boat around the track in one piece, much less stay ahead. A huge credit to our shore crew and put us on the water today with a strong boat because it was a war of attrition out there."

The war began with the Japanese nailing their start and leaving Artemis Racing wanting slow in the start box.

From that point on SoftBank Team Japan extended their lead throughout the race posting record setting speeds for the team as the Swedes lagged - citing systems failures as partially limiting their performance.

As winds built, the second leeward mark rounding then caused breakage on the Japanese boat as the port daggerboard fairing - a carbon-fiber aerodynamic structure - tore free, flapping for the rest of the race.

However, Softbank Team Japan sailed through the carnage with no significant damage caused to the yacht.

The race was over mid-way through the final downwind when Artemis retired from racing being over a half leg behind.

"You get a course like you had today where it's three laps, it's very taxing and the boys did an amazing job today", said Barker.

With their yacht repaired in time for the second race, it was more of the same as SoftBank Team Japan won the start and led by a boat length at Mark 1.

Below is the transcript of the Race Management Feed for the second day of racing in the Challenger Semi Final.
This has never been published before. It is reasonably self-explanatory and is a timeline of race management events and wind measurements.

It must be read against the wind limit rule for the event which (simplified) was that a Preparatory signal was made eight minutes before the start time. If the wind exceeded the limit of 24kts in the next five minutes on a rolling 30 second average then the starting cycle was restarted. If the wind did not exceed the limit in that period the start was declared "live" and would proceed regardless (except for a safety call by the race director) even if the wind exceeded 24kts. So in reading the wind data below it is the first reading that is operative not the peak, which is informational only.

For Race Director Iain Murray's later response to claims that the race should not have been sailed click here